Dutt only foolish, not a terrorist: Counsel

Mumbai, March 21 After the Supreme Court upheld Sanjay Dutt's conviction under the Arms Act in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case and sent him to five years in jail, his counsel Majid Memon Thursday said the Bollywood actor was "foolish" for illegally pos

Mumbai, March 21 (IANS) After the Supreme Court upheld Sanjay Dutt's conviction under the Arms Act in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case and sent him to five years in jail, his counsel Majid Memon Thursday said the Bollywood actor was "foolish" for illegally possessing weapons.

Dutt has been told to surrender in four weeks.

"Dutt was young and foolish back then for illegally possessing weapons. He is neither a traitor nor a terrorist. It is unfortunate that he has been branded a criminal for what can only be defined as foolishness," Memon told IANS.

Memon said that even if Dutt pretended to be strong and showed courage, he surely was a broken man from within.

"He has already undergone a traumatic 20 years, which in itself is a big punishment for illegally possessing weapons," Memon said.

"Today, Dutt is a much different a person from what he used to be in the 1990s. He has also suffered a lot on account of his foolish act. He has been under the cloud of accusations because of the snail's pace of our litigation system," he added.

Memon said Dutt's team of counsel would carefully examine the apex court judgment, examine every word and explore possibilities of a review petition to get out of the situation.

"But in my view, the window is very narrow and hopes do not seem to be very high. The entire film industry has plunged into gloom the moment the news spread like wildfire," he said.

The actor, who was convicted under the Arms Act, was awarded six years' imprisonment by a Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court in 2007.

However, the apex court reduced the sentence to five years. This means Dutt will be in jail for three years and six months since he has already undergone 18 months' imprisonment.

The apex court upheld the death sentence of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon in the case and commuted the death sentence of 10 others.

Dutt is a terrorist. Sunil dutt with Bal thackeray's help pressurized the govt into acquitting him under TADA. He had the audacity to be in touch with the underworld years after the bomb blasts and people say he has reformed. Time for him to pay his dues for his stupidity. As for Salman Khan, he is just a hypocritical scumbag that made use of all the loopholes in the indian judicial system. I will never buy a Being human product and support a drunk killer.

For people bringing Salman Khan into this- I remember that he already had served sentence for his actions way back between 1998 or sometimes after that. It just was kept away from public eye and he was out on bail. The same went for Shiney Ahuja for raping. Instead I think now the police should focus on catching the main criminals

Think it's strange after the Delhi Gang Rape Incident suddenly India's laws are waking up to "punish the wrong" and lo and behold they have started with the people who can get the "most publicity" to show that India does have a "fair judicial trial"

He's sent to jail for possessing a weapon from some mafia Don apparently who was linked to the Mumbai attacks. It's unclear if Dutt was involved in the terrorist attacks or just paid him to obtain a weapon that was illegal to obtain. It took 20 years to make this decision? Strange...

Not sure what to think about this. I do feel bad for his children though. People commit crimes, but unfortunately their not the only ones who suffer for it. I pray for his children...

@ Kiran: You say Sanjay Dutt illegally possessed weapons for protection because his Mother was Muslim? As far as I know his Mother died a good 12 years before this incident? Are you suggesting that Sanjay Dutt was a target of some sort because his Mother had been a Muslim?

Either ways, he illegally possessed arms and that is the reason that he has been found guilty! What is wrong is that it took 20 years to reach a conclusive verdict! That is a serious failing on the part of the legal system of India!

As for the comments some people on this thread have made about Salman Khan... I could not agree more! He has driven recklessly, shot endangered species and even killed someone with his reckless and drunk driving! But to date, he has avoided punishment! The ONLY reason he has managed this, is coz he is a rich and famous star! Anyone else would be in jail by now! What a shame that being a "Star" absolves you from paying for your crimes! Disgusting!

ah! aren't all criminals 'foolish'. Give them 20 - 30years time to repent it will undo what they did. If he was not involved his dad would not have to turn every leaf around to get him out. He was deep in it.

@ chocolatefreak: well said. Salman khan continually evading law clearly indicates that a ton is wrong with our system. IF forums is probably the wrong place to have any reasonable discussion about celebrities. IF doesn't have fans but fanatics. Running your car over homeless people on the street and poaching endangered species is definitely a crime. I was appalled to read comments on INDIA FORUMS where some fanatics suggested that homeless people were to be blamed as they shouldn't have slept on the footpath in the first place. I mean how do you respond to such ridiculous arguments?

Its funny how he goes to jail for having arms but Salman Khan brutally murders people while drunk and shoots animals illegally but has the audacity to continue to live in our society; he probably paid off the corrupt policemen and judges. At least Sunil Dutt was decent enough to admit his crime.

Wow! Ignorance is bliss. There is nothing wrong in possessing arms. But, there is definitely a lot wrong in possessing arms illegally without a license.Those who don't know the whole story need to go back and get their facts straight. What was Mafia Don, Abu Salem doing when he visited Dutt's home in 1993? And yes, Dutt admitted to this himself and then later retracted.And aren't we talking about selective morality here? Rapist is a criminal, a killer is a criminal. And so is someone who is possessing weapons illegally without a license.

I truly believe that rapists n real criminals should b punished... Instead of punishing Sanjay Dutt... Abt what sum1 wrote in a commnt b4 ...though he doesn't have a muslim surname his mom was muslim... That's y many ppl call him terrorist!!! Yes I do agree we do lotta craziness whn we r younger.. Just 2 show off 2 our friendz... 2 look cool... So chill those who r throwing stones on him make sure ur roof isn't of glass... B4 pointing others mistakes we should c ours...N I also believe his arms possession was in self protection as it was pointed out by Kiran... May God make it easy 4u Sanjay.. God bless u.. My prayers r with u n ur family!!

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